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Ohio Cultural Alliance sponsors Cuba talk
By SARAH LEHR
poland
“Man loves liberty, even if he does not know that he loves it. He is driven by it and flees from it where it does not exist.”
Jos Mart , a Cuban poet and revolutionary, penned those words more than a century ago. George Beelen, president of the Ohio Cultural Alliance, repeated Mart ’s words during a presentation at a meeting of the alliance Monday night at the Holy Family Church Hall on Center Road.
Beelen, a retired Youngstown State University history professor, argued that, since its colonization by Spaniards in 1492, Cuba has never fully been free.
After breaking the yoke of Spanish rule, Cuba was subject to U.S.-backed economic neo-colonialism and to various Cuban-born dictators, including Fulgencio Batista and Fidel Castro, Beelen said.
He wove experiences from his own trips to Cuba in 1979 and 2003 with historical facts and figures to create a complex and hopeful portrait of Cuba.
Beelen expressed cautious optimism about the thawing relationship between Cuba and the U.S., and said that Cuba could enjoy additional economic growth if Congress votes to lift sanctions that have been in place for more than a half-century.
Beelen said the alliance had decided on Cuba as a subject a year and a half ago – before President Barack Obama made headlines for his push to normalize relations between the U.S. and the Caribbean nation. Beelen’s talk came just days before the pope’s visit to Cuba. Pope Francis is expected to tour Cuba beginning Saturday.
Before Beelen’s presentation, Deryck Toles, executive director of Inspiring Minds Youth in Warren, an after-school program which provides at-risk youth with mentorship, tutoring and college counseling, spoke about the program.
At each meeting, the alliance asks a local “difference-maker” to speak for five minutes.
Madure Catering provided dinner, including Cuban beans and rice and Bacardi rum cake.
Boardman’s Fred Astaire Dance Studio performed Latin American dances after the meal.